Harold Pinter Theatre

Harold Pinter Theatre

Panton Street, London SW1Y 4DN

Harold Pinter Theatre Safety Policy

Health & safety measures
  • Paperless or print at home tickets
Visitor measures
  • Cash free venue - contactless payments only

Getting here

Closest Tube Station

Piccadilly Circus

Closest Train Station

Charing Cross

The Harold Pinter Theatre (formerly The Comedy Theatre), is a London West End theatre that opened on Panton Street in the City of Westminster on 15 October 1881. It was known then as the Royal Comedy Theatre. 

The Harold Pinter Theatre: History

The theatre was designed by Thomas Verity and built in just six months in painted stucco stone and brick. By 1884 it was known as just the Comedy Theatre. 

In 1883, the successful operetta Falka had its London première at The Harold Pinter Theatre, and in 1885, Erminie did the same. The Harold Pinter's reputation grew through World War I when Charles Blake Cochran and André Charlot presented their famous revue shows. In the mid-1950s West End's Harold Pinter Theatre underwent major reconstruction and re-opened in December 1955, the auditorium remains essentially that of 1881, with three tiers of horseshoe-shaped balconies.
 
The Harold Pinter Theatre was notable for the role it played in overturning stage censorship by establishing the New Watergate Club in 1956, under producer Anthony Field. The outdated Theatres Act 1843 still required scripts to be submitted for approval by the Lord Chamberlain's Office. Formation of the club allowed plays that had been banned due to language or subject matter to be performed under 'club' conditions. Plays produced in this way at The Harold Pinter included the UK premieres of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge, Robert Anderson's Tea and Sympathy and Tennessee Williams' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. The law was not revoked until 1968, but in the late 1950s there was a loosening of conditions in theatre censorship, the club was dissolved and Peter Shaffer's Five Finger Exercise premiered to a public audience.

The Harold Pinter Theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage in June 1972.

The Homecoming, No-man's Land, Moonlight, The Hothouse and The Caretaker have all been presented at The Harold Pinter in recent years. Maureen Lipman has also graced The Harold Pinter stage, starring in Alan Plater's highly acclaimed comedy, Peggy For You. But the theatre's two biggest successes were The Caretaker starring Michael Gambon in 2000 and an eight-week sell-out run of Little Malcolm and his Struggle Against the Eunuchs in 1999, starring Ewan McGregor and directed by Denis Lawson, which smashed all box office records. More recently, Francesca Annis and Anthony Andrews have starred in Ibsen's Ghosts and 2004 saw the much-lauded revival of RC Sherriff's Journey's End and a successful run of The Old Masters by Simon Gray, starring Edward Fox and Peter Bowles . This production was directed by Harold Pinter, after whom the then Comedy Theatre was, of course, renamed The Harold Pinter Theatre.

In January 2005, Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall starred in Peter Hall's London production of Whose Life Is It Anyway? by Brian Clark, followed by Tom Courtenay in Brian Friel's The Home Place and Joseph Fiennes and Francesca Annis in Epitaph for George Dillon by John Osborne and Anthony Creighton. The Harold Pinter Theatre London has also played host to Steptoe and Son, Michael Frayn's Donkey's Years, The Rocky Horror Show, and the hilarious high-flying comedy, Boeing-Boeing.

As of 8th of September 2011, The Comedy Theatre was renamed as The Harold Pinter Theatre and famously put on a marathon season of Pinter shows from 2018-19 dubbed the Pinter at the Pinter season.

Harold Pinter Theatre Seating Plan

The Hills of California is the current production at Harold Pinter Theatre. The latest booking period for The Hills of California at Harold Pinter Theatre started 27/01/2024 19:00:00 and runs until 15/06/2024 19:00:00. Tickets for The Hills of California start at £19 and are available to book now.

Harold Pinter Theatre is located in London. The full address is Harold Pinter Theatre, Panton Street, London SW1Y 4DN.

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Oslo

How far would you go to make peace with your enemies?

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Pinter 5: The Room/Victoria Station/Family Voices

Pinter 5 tickets are now available to see Jane Horrocks in the Pinter Season

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Good

David Tennant to star in C.P. Taylor's Good!

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Pinter 6: Party Time/Celebration

Pinter 6 tickets are now available to see Tracy-Ann Oberman and Celia Imrie in the Pinter at the Pinter Season

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Old Times

Book official tickets for Old Times

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Uncle Vanya

New adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya to star Toby Jones and Richard Armitage.

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Blithe Spirit

Jennifer Saunders reprises her role in Blithe Spirit, coming to the Harold Pinter Theatre in 2021

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Pinter 7: A Slight Ache/The Dumb Waiter

Book your Pinter 7 tickets now to see Danny Dyer and Martin Freeman in the Pinter at the Pinter Season

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J'Ouvert

"What people you know can party through all of the earth's elements?"

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Uncle Vanya

New adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya to star Toby Jones and Richard Armitage.

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Pinter 4: Moonlight/Night School

Book Pinter 4 tickets now to see Jessica Barden and Peter Polycarpou in the Pinter Season

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A Little Life (Harold Pinter Theatre)

Witness this brilliant story of navigating trauma based on Hanya Yanagihara's novel!

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Consent

Nina Raine’s ‘blistering new play’ (New York Times) makes a triumphant and timely transfer to the Harold Pinter Theatre.

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Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin is poised to make a splash at the West End's Harold Pinter Theatre.

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The Birthday Party

Harold Pinter's classic play features a trio of Olivier Award winners.

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The Human Voice

Ruth Wilson stars in The Human Voice this spring!

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Relative Values

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Pinter 1: One For The Road/New World Order/Mountain Language/Ashes to Ashes

The new Harold Pinter season at the Pinter featuring directors Jamie Lloyd and Lia Williams

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The Seagull

Emilia Clarke stars in The Seagull

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Birdsong

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The Children's Hour

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Pinter 2: The Lover/The Collection

The new Harold Pinter season at the Pinter featuring David Suchet

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Absent Friends

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Donkeys Years

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Rocky Horror Show, The

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Mrs Warren's Profession

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Doctor Bunhead’s Recipes For Disaster

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Fat Pig

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Sexual Perversity in Chicago

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Misanthrope, The

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Whose Life Is It Anyway?

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Dickens Unplugged

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South Downs/The Browning Version

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What The Night Is For

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Prick Up Your Ears

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Pretending To Be Me

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A Chorus of Disapproval

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Spamalot

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Merrily We Roll Along

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Epitaph For George Dillon

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Too Close To The Sun

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Nice Fish

Mark Rylance and Louis Jenkins’ critically-acclaimed new comic play Nice Fish transfers to the West End this November

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Why The Whales Came

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Fascinating Aida

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Mojo

Starring Brendan Coyle, Rupert Grint, Daniel Mays, Colin Morgan and Ben Whishaw

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Being Shakespeare

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Steptoe & Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane

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Boeing - Boeing

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Home Place, The

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On An Average Day

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Chimerica

Following a sold-out run at the Almedia Theatre, the critically acclaimed production transfers to the West End

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Sunny Afternoon

★★★★★ 'A Blazing Triumph. I Swear You’ll Get Goosebumps' Telegraph

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Caesar Twins and Friends

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Rattle of a Simple Man

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School of Night

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Old Masters, The

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Anna X

Anna X ; Starring Golden Globe Award-winner Emma Corrin (Netflix’s The Crown)

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Cyrano de Bergerac

James McAvoy to star in Cyrano de Bergerac tickets now on sale!

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Betrayal

Tom Hiddleston will take to the West End stage in Pinter’s Betrayal

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The Watsons

The Watsons transfers to London's West End for a 2020 summer run at the Harold Pinter Theatre!

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Death And The Maiden

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Prima Facie

Jodie Comer stars in Prima Facie in 2022.

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Walden

The RE:EMERGE season begins with Walden starring Gemma Arterton.

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Four Quartets

Ralph Fiennes in the West End

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Ben Elton Live

Ben Elton comes to London for a limited run this holiday season!

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Pinter 3: Landscape/A Kind of Alaska/Monologue

The new Harold Pinter season at the Pinter featuring Tamsin Greig

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La Bete

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Dr Semmelweis

Witness Dr. Semmelweis' ground-breaking discovery that shook the world of medicine

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Lyonesse

Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James reunite to star in Penelope Skinner's new play!

Pantomime

Sleeping Beauty

The beloved fairytale gets a drag makeover by Drag Race alumni and many more famous queens

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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

The iconic Edward Albee's play returning to the West End with a stellar cast!

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Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons

What will be said in Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons at the Harold Pinter Theatre?